EL UNIVERSAL
Monday March 17, 2014 06:14 PM
The United States avoided answering questions about the offer made by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro entailing a dialogue on Venezuelan demonstrations, yet the United States reaffirmed that the intervention of a third party is "essential" to ease tension between the Venezuelan Government and the opposition, EFE informed.
US Department of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a briefing she did not believe that her government was considering naming a special envoy to start talks with the Venezuelan Executive Office and the Union of South American States (Unasur), as proposed by Maduro on Saturday.
"We believe a dialogue should be facilitated by a third party acceptable to all parties in Venezuela," said Psaki adding that the Venezuelan "Government and the opposition need to be in agreement" for the purpose of choosing a third party.
The US spokesperson insisted on saying that the United States focused on "continuing to call on the Venezuelan Government to take steps to promote freedom of speech and take steps to release those who are unjustly jailed."
She commented that "the Venezuelan Government should stop the violence against its citizens (...) lift restrictions on freedom of the press, and engage in an inclusive dialogue with Venezuelans across the political spectrum."
